Mobile App Trends You Need on Your Radar in 2019

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Mobile devices have become a part of daily life for people across the globe. Smartphones, in particular, with mobile app use are becoming more popular by the day. In fact, for 2019, the number of smartphone users worldwide is expected to reach a mind-blowing 2.7 billion¹.

Inevitably, if smartphone use increases, so do app use. That means even more money will be thrown into mobile app marketing. Mobile ad spends will reach $93 billion² in 2019. That kind of cash flow means there will be some big developments in the mobile landscape.

The best way to stay ahead of your competition in this booming market? Keep up to date with emerging trends, and act on them! This is our list of the current and upcoming trends that we see shaping mobile in 2019.

Increased Efforts Around App Security

Security is a primary concern across all areas of the digital landscape, not just for mobile applications. With the mobile arena still in its early years, many apps still fail to pass basic security tests. According to a 2017 study by Gartner, 75%³ of mobile apps could not pass simple security tests.

With more regulations, such as GDPR, NDB, and the newly enacted PSD2 regulations for the banking industry, we predict there will be an even greater urgency for organizations to secure their mobile apps. Apps manipulated by hackers not only contribute to losses for the app company, but cause huge distrust and a bad reputation among users.

Now more than ever, it’s important for app developers to utilize security-checking tools. By doing so, creators ensure that their app monetization partners utilize stringent anti-fraud measures. For insight into Adperio’s compliance standards, check out our fraud prevention methods.

Video Ads Continue to Grow in Popularity

According to a study by eMarketer, advertisers will spend $16 billion⁴ on mobile video in 2019. In fact, in 2018 smartphones became the dominant device for watching online video.

With video being such a high driver of mobile traffic, we predict big players will make a push towards utilizing more mobile video in their apps. New companies will likely emerge with video-only apps, and video in-app ads will continue to be on the rise.

App marketers should expect to explore Youtube, Instagram, and other video ad platforms this year, as well as ways to create their own in-app video content.

App Gamification Used to Increase Engagement

As user attention spans continue to decrease, app retention and engagement rates go with it. So how do you get people to interact with your app in a way that holds their attention? Gamification! Gamification is the use of game elements in a typically non-gaming context, with the purpose of driving user engagement.

With the oversaturated app market only growing larger by the day, a huge battle for app marketers is avoiding uninstalls. App gamification presents an interesting way for users to engage with your app. This also motivates them to continuously use that app. Gamification not only means your app stays downloaded, but it also remains relevant. Some popular app gamification strategies include:

Utilizing leader-boards
Giving badges for accomplishments
Using motivational messages/thanking users for completing steps
Utilizing quizzes
Providing rewards for consistent use/engagement

Augmented Reality Technologies on the Rise

Augmented reality is no longer a feature reserved solely for gaming apps. While still very much in its infancy, it’s a trend that’s showing it has legs, and won’t be waning any time soon.

One of the first popularized uses of AR was back in 2016 with the advent of Pokemon Go, as well as on bigger apps like Instagram and Snapchat with their face-changing filters. While AR will still be huge for your social app marketing campaigns, we also predict that it will be utilized for more ‘practical’ apps as well. Think things like Apple’s Measure app, which can detect the size and dimensions of real-world objects via your phone’s camera, or Amazon’s AR View that lets users test out what pieces of their furniture/appliances will look like in their homes.

Google and Apple’s ARKit and ARCore tools are live, and there are now mainstream frameworks for app developers to build apps based on augmented reality, making this trend more accessible than ever before.

Cloud Integration

Cloud integration will present some incredibly useful benefits for app development in 2019, including reduced hosting costs, faster app load times, strengthened security, and less phone storage used.

The Cloud is particularly useful for offering a seamless user experience on a more powerful mobile app that would typically be slowed down due to its data processing needs. With computing and storage being done in the cloud, rather than through the use of your phone’s hardware capabilities, you get a much faster app experience.

Businesses will also continue to move towards cloud storage integration in the mobile apps they use, as it facilitates with document access from any device, and offers safer storage of sensitive information.

Wrapping Up

The app developers and marketers who keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the mobile industry are the ones that set themselves up for success. Users are constantly in search of faster, friendlier, and more exciting app experiences, and if you can provide these experiences best, you win the user. For 2019, these are just some of the trends that will help your app stay ahead of the curve.

Sources:

Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/
eMarketer: https://www.emarketer.com/content/mobile-trends-2019#page-report
Gartner: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom
eMarketer: https://www.emarketer.com/content/mobile-video-advertising-2019

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